ALBEMARLE COUNTY
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

About Stormwater Management
Changes in land use (for instance - from forest to pasture or pasture to urban) typically cause unintentional impacts to local, and sometimes distant, water resources.  More specifically, an increase in roads, buildings, and other hard surfaces causes a greater quantity of runoff to reach streams more directly and quickly.  In addition, many pollutants, such as oils, heavy metals, chemicals, and fertilizers, are introduced by development and often washed into waterways. As a result, the stability of stream channels and the health of the ecological community is disturbed.  The resulting human consequences include impacts to water supply, loss of property due to erosion, less recreation opportunities and enjoyment, and impacts to downstream fisheries.

Presently, the County requires -- though the Water Protection Ordinance -- these impacts to be considered and mitigated during the land development process.  However, in the past these requirements did not exist and many impacts to our surface waters have already occurred.  A major objective of the County's environmental team is the implementation of an increasingly robust and proactive stormwater management program to 1) address the impacts that are being caused by historic development and 2) better prevent further impacts through master planning and continued development review.

This will be facilitated, in part, by the recent completion and endorsement of the Stormwater Master Plan.  This document serves as a record of the condition of the streams that lie within the development areas and provides the foundation for a strategy to most effectively mitigate existing impacts and prevent future impacts from arising.

In addition, the County is continuing to strengthen programs to:

• educate and engage the public
• improve environmental stewardship within various County operations
• inspect and ensure the maintenance of private stormwater management facilities
• address impacts in stream corridors through capital improvements
• respond to drainage complaints
• provide guidance during master planning processes

Learn more about stormwater ...

Albemarle County has partnered with a number of other local entities having stormwater management responsibilities to more effectively engage and education the public on stormwater-related issues.  To learn more about stormwater -- and what we can do to minimize its negative effects on the health of our streams -- visit the website of the Rivanna Regional Stormwater Education Partnership, a joint project by Albemarle County, the City of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia, the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority, and the Virginia Department of Transportation.